


golden eyes

by Oceantail



Series: Oceantail's ATLA fics [4]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Azula (Avatar) Redemption, Azula and Zuko are real siblings, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Fluff, Gen, Happy Azula (Avatar), Healthy Relationships, LET AZULA BE HAPPY, Light Angst, POV Azula (Avatar), Protective Azula (Avatar), Redeemed Azula, azula: i've just met izumi but if anything happened to her, azula’s going to be that chaotic lesbian aunt, for the fans, i would kill everyone in this room and then myself, in this house we make fun of zuko's terrible naming skills, just a smidge, we STAN
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-23
Updated: 2020-06-23
Packaged: 2021-03-03 20:15:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,634
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24731419
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Oceantail/pseuds/Oceantail
Summary: Zuko reached for Mai’s hand and smiled. “Her name is Izumi.”Azula blinked, then arched an eyebrow at Zuko.“Fountain? Really Zuzu?"Or,Azula meets her niece. It’s cute.
Relationships: Azula & Izumi (Avatar), Azula & Mai (Avatar), Azula & Ty Lee (Avatar), Azula & Zuko (Avatar), Mai/Zuko (Avatar)
Series: Oceantail's ATLA fics [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1805656
Comments: 25
Kudos: 587
Collections: A:tla





	golden eyes

Azula blinked herself awake as the first rays of sunlight spilled into the heart of Caldara City. Rubbing her eyes, she straightened up from the chair she had fallen asleep in last night and used her sleeve to wipe away dried drool from the corner of her mouth. 

Thank Agni no one was around to see the princess of the Fire Nation like this. 

She rolled her shoulders to get loosen of the stiffness in her muscles, to no avail. 

Next to her, Ty Lee’s usually perfect posture was nowhere to be seen as she slouched in her chair, fast asleep against the backrest. 

Azula mentally kicked herself for not thinking to ask servants to bring them pillows the night before. Though to be fair, neither she nor Ty Lee expected to sleep in chairs outside of the medical wing. 

She sighed and tried to smooth down her mussed up hair before knocking on the door to Mai’s delivery room. 

A healer cracked the door open. “Princess Azula!” the healer blurted out, looked startled. Her gaze darted past Azula and to the chairs just outside the doorway, one of which still had a sleeping Ty Lee slumped over in it. The healer then quickly composed herself and opened the door wider, beginning to drop into a bow, but Azula sharply motioned her to stop.

“Is Mai okay?” Azula asked. She didn’t have time for formalities.

The healer nodded, “Yes Your Highness. The delivery finished up early this morning, but Fire Lady Mai passed out almost immediately afterward. She’s perfectly okay health-wise. In fact, I believe she just woke up.” 

Azula relaxed, the tension she didn’t realize she had leaving her body. “And my brother?”

“Fire Lord Zuko is still inside; he said earlier that you and Lady Ty Lee can come in whenever you’re ready.” 

“Thank you.” Azula said, “We’ll be going in shortly. Please leave the door open.” She dismissed the healer with a nod. 

“Ty Lee,” Azula said, reaching out to shake her friend awake. “Ty Lee wake up.” 

Ty Lee jerked awake, blinking up at Azula. She offered a tired smile. “Hi Azula,” she mumbled sleepily, looking around to take in her surroundings. “Is-” She yawned loudly. “Is the baby here yet?” 

“Yes,” Azula replied, with a small smile, “The healer just said that we could go in.” 

Ty Lee was instantly awake, any sign of tiredness gone. “Let’s go!” she exclaimed. She grabbed Azula’s arm and yanked her towards the door, ignoring the protests from her friend. 

When Ty Lee passed through the doorway with Azula in tow, the two remaining healers bowed and silently left the room to give the four privacy. The healer that Azula talked to earlier gave her a warm smile as she passed. 

Mai was lying on the bed, leaning against quite a large pile of pillows. She looked tired and disheveled, but her eyes shone with happiness and satisfaction as she cradled a bundle of blankets in her arms. Beside her sat Zuko, who was hovering over her and the baby, arms wrapped around his family. The outer layers of Zuko’s robes were discarded, his hair rumpled and the Firelord’s crown lying on its side on a table across the room. They did make quite a lovely picture, even Azula could admit that. She wished a painter could paint fast enough to capture the moment. 

Zuko looked up at the sound of approaching footsteps. “Hey,” he said quietly, probably for the baby’s benefit. 

“Wow Mai!” Ty Lee gasped, much louder than Zuko’s attempt to keep quiet, “She looks just like you!”

“I do not look like a newborn,” Mai snarked back grumpily, though her face brightened ever so slightly at the sight of her friends. 

Ty Lee pouted before offering her a sunny smile. 

“How was it?” Azula asked, cutting straight to the point. 

Mai turned towards her and now Azula could better identify the exhaustion and weariness in her face. “Tiring,” she replied straightforwardly. 

Azula winced in sympathy. 

“And her name?” Azula asked, eyes fixed on the bundle in her arms.

Mai handed off the baby to her husband and leaned back on her many pillows. Zuko smiled and stood, careful not to disrupt his daughter’s slumber. “Her name is Izumi.”

Azula blinked, then arched an eyebrow at Zuko. 

“Fountain? Really Zuzu? 

Zuko flushed. 

“I think it’s adorable!” Ty Lee exclaimed. “It’s  _ so _ cute that you two decided to name her after that.” 

Mai sighed. “It was Zuko’s idea,” she said, though there was a slight smile playing across her lips. 

Azula let out an exasperated huff, “Of  _ course _ it was. What do we expect from the same person who named Druk?” 

Her brother looked offended. “What’s wrong with Druk?!”

Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee all exchanged looks. Azula in exasperation, Mai in feigned disinterest and Ty Lee in laughter.

“You named your dragon ‘Thunder Dragon!’” Ty Lee giggled. “It sounds like it’s from one of those plays you like!” 

Zuko blushed and scowled at her, but it looked almost comedic, what with the baby in his arms. Mai patted his arm consolingly, though the three of them could see her eyes were sparkling with laughter. 

Zuko rolled his eyes. “Do you want to hold her or not?” 

“I would LOVE too!” Ty Lee said instantly, bounding forward towards him, holding out her arms eagerly. 

Dropping the annoyed face and smiling, Zuko demonstrated how to hold her. “Look,” he instructed, “Support her head like this and put your hand here. Make sure you give her enough space.” 

“She’s sleeping right now,” Ty Lee said, awestruck, after she successfully settled Izumi in her arms. 

“Well she was up all night,” Mai said dryly. “She better be asleep.” 

Azula’s mouth turned up at the comment. 

“Hi little baby,” she whispered softly, “I'm Ty Lee. It’s so nice to finally meet you.” She gently rocked her back and forth. 

After a few moments, Ty Lee looked back up at Mai and Zuko, eyes shining. “She’s wonderful!” She gushed, “She’s just so small and tiny and  _ so cute _ ! I love her already.” 

Zuko glowed with pride. Mai turned to look at Azula who was watching Ty Lee with Izumi in barely concealed interest. 

“Do you want to hold her?” Mai asked. 

Azula looked started. She hesitated before, “Yes. I do.” 

Ty Lee smiled and stepped towards her, carefully depositing Izumi into her arms. 

Azula stared down at the baby in her arms in awe. She didn’t really know what to say except—

“Wow.” Izumi was so small and so light in her arms. 

Azula was amazed. 

And Azula knew her hands were dangerous. A lifetime ago, she had once held a fire dagger to the throat of the Earth King. She had struck down the Aang in the Avatar State and her own brother with her lightning. But today she held her niece, a fragile and soft new life, innocent and unknowing. She now understood why Ty Lee had been so awed when she saw her up close. 

Izumi opened her eyes. Azula took in a breath. 

“Golden,” she murmured, staring down at her niece. As to be expected of course. Every single member of her family had Sozin's golden eyes. 

Azula licked her lips, mouth suddenly dry. 

She heard a movement and Zuko’s hand landed on her shoulder, interrupting her thoughts, a solid presence. She looked up and he stared back at her with empathy and understanding. 

He didn’t say a word, but she knew what he was telling her.  _ We create our own legacy, _ his eyes seemed to say.  _ Our own family. _

Azula relaxed, shaking off her intrusive thoughts. Yes. Of course. She knew that. She’d been reminding herself of that for years. 

When she glanced back down, Izumi was smiling up at her. 

Azula felt her heart soar. She smiled back. 

“Golden,” she repeated, her voice stronger this time, “just like her amazing aunt.” 

Zuko scoffed, taking his hand off her shoulder. “She’s  _ my _ daughter.” 

“I’ll see to it that she’ll be spending lots of time with her favorite aunt then,” Azula said, pretending to toss her hair in contempt, careful not to jostle her niece. 

Ty Lee laughed and Mai and Zuko smiled good-naturedly. 

Her loose hair fell in front of her face, hanging above Izumi like the toy mobile Zuko had hung in the nursery last week. Izumi stared wide-eyed at the dark strands, fascinated. 

Ty Lee reached over and gently brushed Azula's hair back behind her shoulders and out of grabbing range, even though Izumi was tightly swaddled and couldn’t have grabbed anything if she tried. 

Then, a sudden thought struck her. Grinning Azula turned back up to Zuko, a teasing gleam in her eyes. “Izumi, right?” she said, almost triumphantly, “Looks like I can call  _ both _ of you ‘Zuzu’.” 

Zuko froze, then yelped in a very un-Firelord fashion. “No!” he hissed, scowling. 

Mai snorted and Ty Lee giggled while her brother flushed bright red. 

“Should have thought of that before you named her Izumi, Zuzu.” Azula continued lightly, “I’d say you walked right into that one.” She looked down at the baby in her arms, then back at her brother. “Isn’t that right Princess Zuzu?”

Izumi gurgled happily up at her. 

Zuko sputtered angrily, before breaking out into a quiet chortle of his own. “I guess we did walk into it,” he acquiesced, though he still sounded just a bit grumpy. 

Azula moved forward and took a seat at the end of the bed. Ty Lee lightly leapt over the high footboard and settled down next to her as Zuko returned to his spot by Mai’s side. 

Azula smiled to herself. 

Here, in this room, laughing with her brother and friends while cradling her niece, Azula had never felt happier. 

**Author's Note:**

> azula's hair is loose post-redemption arc bc she learned she can let her hair down (figuratively and literally)
> 
> and yeah, druk is the name for the thunder dragon of bhutanese mythology. i actually didnt know that till i looked it up
> 
> please drop a kudos/comment they mean so much to me <3


End file.
